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There are two general types of water for your saltwater or reef aquarium: real seawater that you buy at the fish store or get from the ocean yourself and artificial saltwater that you buy pre-mixed from your local store or in powder form (artificial sea salts) and you mix into saltwater yourself. We’re going to talk about how to mix up your own saltwater. It is easy to do but you need a few items and to plan ahead a little. To begin you’ll need to get the following – a high quality sea salt mix, a clean bucket or trash can (one that has never been cleaned with soap or used for anything else), a hydrometer or refractometer and a source of fresh water. A small submersible pump also comes in handy to help speed the mixing. If you are going to be using tapwater you’ll also need a […]

When it comes to the variety of DrTim’s Aquatics products, some can be used together but sometimes they should not be mixed. I am going to sort this out in a quick fashion for you. One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria — before adding One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria, the water must be free of chlorine and chloramines so use AquaCleanse or First Defense to accomplish this. Make sure to turn off devices such as the protein skimmer and UV-sterilizer, and remove any filter socks for 48 hours after adding One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria. Do not add Waste-Away, Re-Fresh or Eco-Balance during the first 2 weeks of adding One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria. AquaCleanse — can be used when first filling your aquarium and when doing large water changes (over 50%). While AquaCleanse can be used to temporarily control ammonia in emergencies, it is much better […]

You read or hear from “experts,” that nitrifying bacteria mixtures don’t work so don’t waste your money. That statement may have been true 10 years ago but is not today. I will explain why. But first let me acknowledge that I do manufacture and sell a mixture of nitrifying bacteria. However, unlike every other company selling these products, I have been conducting research on nitrifying bacteria for nearly 20 years, did my Ph.D. on nitrifying bacteria in aquaria and have published my work in peer-reviewed, scientific literature. No other company can make those same claims. So I ask you: whose bacteria would you rather buy? A brand developed by a scientist (who is also a life-long fish hobbyist) who is published, and has been studying and developing nitrifying bacteria for aquaria for nearly two decades, or one of the brands that has a big marketing department behind them? Let me […]

Fish and corals react to stress in many of the same ways that humans do. Stress can reduce their ability to fight off disease, resulting in poor body condition and loss of color. If the stress agents in the aquarium are not removed, the animal will eventually be invaded by opportunistic bacteria or develop a viral infection and then die. So what are the common stress agents in an aquarium? The most common is poor water quality. But poor water quality is a rather general term, as what may be poor for one animal could be fine for another. So one needs to know some basics about the animals they are keeping. Also, the stress may be a series of problems that finally affect the fish or corals. For example, nitrifying bacteria prefer a higher pH value (between 7.5 and 8.5), and as the pH drops below this range, the […]

Maintenance – no one likes to do maintenance on aquariums or anything else. But maintenance on an aquarium does not have to be hard or time consuming. A few minutes each week with an hour or so once a month is all this is necessary for most aquaria. Plus DrTim’s Aquatics makes a few products that help reduce the time needed for maintenance. Here we’ll review the basics of aquarium maintenance and discuss ways to make it even easier to perform. The main purpose of maintenance is to remove organic matter from the aquarium. In general, there are two types of organics – particulate and dissolved. Particulate organic matter is the stuff you can easily see that develops on the filter pads and in the gravel. Dissolved organics are much harder to see because they are, obviously, dissolved in the water! A lot of organic matter is trapped on the […]

What? Of course, nitrifying bacteria aren’t human. Everyone knows that. If that’s the case, which it is, then why do so many people insist on giving nitrifying bacteria human traits? What I am talking about is the continued insistence of many that nitrifying bacteria can’t possibly survive in a bottle because they will starve due to lack of food, if they don’t suffocate first due to lack of oxygen in the bottle. Therefore, no nitrifying bacteria mixture can work because they all come in a bottle. Humans need oxygen and food to survive. Nitrifying bacteria need oxygen and food to reproduce. There is a difference. So how can nitrifying bacteria live in a bottle? Well, first we have to make sure we are on the same page, definition wise. For humans, the opposite of live is dead. So if a human being is not living, he or she dead. But […]

Setting up a new aquarium can be intimidating and exciting at the same time. But while excitement is good, feeling intimidated is not so good. Taking the apprehension out of the process and helping you succeed in setting up your aquarium is the goal of this article. Step1: Find the right place for your aquarium. The location should not be in direct sunlight, as this will encourage algae growth, nor in an area where air from a heater or air conditioner will blow directly on the tank, as this may cause water temperature fluctuations, which are not good for the fish. Lastly, try not to put the tank in an area of the house where there is a lot of traffic, as this may cause the fish to feel constantly stressed. Step 2: Set up the devices for your aquarium. Add gravel (or crushed coral for saltwater tanks), the filter, […]

Nitrifying bacteria do not last forever in a bottle. The first thing you should look for on the bottle is whether there is a born-on or expiration date. There are many brands of nitrifying bacteria on the market. However, several do not provide a date that tells you either when the product was bottled or when it expires – you should avoid these products. Other products provide some sort of secret code that is impossible to decipher, which is just as worthless as having no date label. Of all the products available to the fish hobbyists, nitrifying bacteria are at the top of list of products that should carry a date label. Why? Because nitrifying bacteria are living organisms whose function decreases over time, once they are bottled and no longer have access to food and oxygen. Currently, the technology does not exist to extend the shelf life of nitrifying […]

Rebecca L. from South Carolina asked if she should add salt in her freshwater tanks because she was told it prevents diseases and, if so, how much? Here is the answer to Rebecca’s question: In many cases, adding a little salt to a freshwater aquarium can help, as it reduces the stress on the fish by assisting the fish’s osmoregulation (sorry for the technical term – what it means is it makes it easier for the fish to maintain itself physiologically in the water). But it all depends on the fish, and it will not prevent diseases in all cases. Also, salt can be toxic to some fish, even in small doses. For instance, South America Tetras, Corydoras catfish and other fish from this region do not tolerate salt at all. Also, you have to make sure to do water changes and not just keep on adding salt to the […]

Overdosing ammonia removers during the start-up and break-in cycle of a newly set-up aquarium can cause problems and actually delay the onset of nitrification, even when using a culture of living nitrifying bacteria. Before adding nitrifying bacteria to their newly set-up aquarium, many people add a dechlorination/ammonia removing agent to their tap water to get rid of any chlorine, chloramines and ammonia that may be present. This is a good practice, but it can lead to problems when the product is overdosed. Overdosing many of the ammonia removing products on the market will actually inhibit the nitrifying bacteria from growing and becoming established in the new tank. So in reality, by adding more and more ammonia remover to the aquaria, you are actually doing more harm than good and delaying the establishment of your bio-filter. The best way to use an ammonia-removing product is to follow the dosing directions – […]